FAIRBANKS, United States: Secretary of State Rex Tillerson traveled about as far from Washington as he could without leaving the United States, but could not escape questions about Russia and climate change. But in Fairbanks, the newly minted American envoy may come under more pressure from traditional allies like Canada and Finland than from Moscow, this time over climate change. Previous meetings have drawn attention to the damage that has already been done to the Arctic ecosystem by climate change and the dangers that accelerated warming would pose worldwide. “Climate change has been an ongoing topic of interest for the Arctic Council for many chairmanships,” he said, predicting that Finland would take up the charge. “And the US will remain engaged in the work that the Arctic Council does on climate change throughout,” he added.

Source: Manila Times May 11, 2017 05:48 UTC